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Human Rights in China, an international, non-governmental NGO, has highlighted the case of Niu Tengyu, administrator of the E'osu Wiki website, who was arrested seven years ago and is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence in Guangdong.
According to an X post by the organisation, Niu was arrested at his home in Jiaozuo, Henan, on August 22, 2019, by plainclothes officers posing as property management personnel. The 19-year-old was allegedly handcuffed and taken away, while computers, phones, hard drives, bank cards and documents were seized. Human Rights in China said Niu had been involved with E'osu Wiki, one of several overseas platforms associated with the so-called "E'osu Circle". The organisation claimed that these websites had published personal information and photographs involving Chinese President Xi Jinping, his family and other senior Communist Party officials and their relatives. The X post stated that Niu was initially detained on suspicion of "assisting in information network criminal activities". Prosecutors later accused him of posting comments and images on E'osu Wiki and contributing to content authorities considered false or defamatory. The organisation further alleged that Niu was subjected to severe torture during detention, including beatings, sleep and food deprivation, suspension by handcuffs, whipping, scalding and other forms of abuse. It noted that these allegations were based on accounts from Niu's mother, legal appeal materials and human rights groups. According to the post, Niu and 23 other defendants went on trial in Maoming in November 2020. By February 2021, Niu had been convicted of charges including "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", "infringing on citizens' personal information" and "illegal business operations". His concurrent sentences totalled 14 years, along with a fine of 130,000 yuan. His appeal was rejected on April 23, 2021. Human Rights in China said the second-instance proceedings took place without lawyers and family members being permitted to attend. The organisation added that Niu is currently serving his sentence at Sihui Prison in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, with his sentence scheduled to end on September 10, 2033. It alleged that his lengthy sentence was linked to the publication of sensitive information concerning senior Chinese officials and content related to Hong Kong and Xinjiang. (ANI)
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